Pittsburgh’s Page’s introduces ice cream pops
Margie Page-Prusia called her creative director Shannon Blanc with a sweet assignment.
“She told me about some ice cream pops she saw (on social media) and asked me to help with product development,” said Blanc, the cake creator at Page’s ice cream shop on Pittsburgh’s South Side. “I love a challenge, and I was excited about being a part of this. We experimented and came up with some really cool flavors.”
Pun intended.
There are eight Page’s Pops, the names and ingredients inspired by employees and Page-Prusia’s niece. The ice cream pops on a stick officially launched Monday.
They are:
Shan Wow Pop: Blanc’s choice of vanilla ice cream, chocolate dipped with peanuts. (Her nickname is ShamWow after the cleaning towel.)
Perfect Pop: Employee Alyssa Arabelli-Smith decided on chocolate ice cream, chocolate dipped and chocolate sprinkles. She always says “perfect” after taking an order.
Hey Em: It’s a vanilla ice cream pop, chocolate dipped with rainbow sprinkles for employee Emily Synowiec, to whom co-workers say “Hey Em.”
Sam Pop: Peanut butter ice cream with chocolate drizzle for employee Sam Rock.
Cold Pop: Cookies ‘n cream ice cream with half-dipped chocolate for manager Ryan Andrews.
Ollie Pop: Raspberry ice cream with chocolate drizzle for Page-Prusia’s niece, Olivia Page.
Mag Pop: Fruity pebble ice cream with cherry drizzle for manager Maggie Zandier.
And the Nancy B. Pop, named in memory of the late Nancy Bertram Runco, who owned Nancy B’s Bakery in West Homestead, It’s vanilla ice cream with pieces of Nancy B’s Bakery chocolate chips and chocolate drizzle.
The cost is $2.75 each and the plan is to add more flavors throughout the season.
“We will see how it goes,” Page-Prusia said. “We hope people like them. We think they are perfect to take home and put in your freezer and enjoy later.”
All of the flavors are hand-mixed and sealed in bags. They have inventory, but for larger orders, it’s best to call ahead for events such as graduations, birthdays or weddings.
“The names just fell into place,” said Page-Prusia, who plans to offer a dairy-free, vegan option as an order-ahead choice.
Page’s, which is celebrating 71 years this season, likes to try different items on its menu.
The shop at the corner of East Carson Street and Becks Run Road which opened for the season on a snowy March 9, recently began serving soft-serve flavors of strawberry shortcake, Butterfinger, cookies ‘n cream and peanut butter chocolate chip. Another new item is the Cold Brewmisu — Big Dog Coffee cold brew in a cake with chocolate chips. Page’s also collaborated with Turner Dairy Farms on a chocolate milkshake
Page-Prusia and her husband purchased the business from her dad, Chuck Page, in March 2020. He works a few days a week.
“You get to see her creativeness with the Page’s Pops,” Chuck Page said. “I used to think if you kept everything the same, people will come back, but they like to try new things.”
They go through more than 600 Nancy B. chocolate chip cookies in a week. They most likely will need more for the Nancy B. Pop and the next tasty menu item: The “Large Marge,” inspired by Page-Prusia, is set to be released by June.
It’s a sundae of vanilla ice cream, brownies, hot fudge, strawberry pieces and, of course, Nancy B cookies.
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a TribLive reporter covering the region’s diverse culinary scene and unique homes. She writes features about interesting people and a weekly column about things to do in Pittsburgh. The Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist began her career as a sports reporter. She has been with the Trib for 26 years and is the author of “A Daughter’s Promise.” She can be reached at jharrop@triblive.com.
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